Turnberry Towers -
Las Vegas, NevadaCarter McKinney aka Helluva Bottom Carter of Sin City Wrestling fame, was curled up on the flush sofa that dominated the central floor of the condo that he and his erstwhile boyfriend Miles Kasey now called home. Before Miles had consented to allow his boyfriend to ‘touch things up a bit,’ the decor could at best be described as bare minimum. A sofa here, a chair and table there – but nothing too elaborate or to boast about. Miles was simply a minimalist by nature and had grown accustomed to coming ‘home’ as it were to Las Vegas and had little use for the frills of too much decor. Why would he? He was comfortable at the time. But then Carter had moved in, and he and Miles had begun a passionate love affair with one another, one that was just as heated now as it was when it first had begun at the start of the year. And while Carter made no outright move to try and change anything about the condo because he knew it reality, it was Miles’s in name. However, on the flip side of the same coin, Miles himself decided his home was also now Carter’s, and Carter deserved to have his touch throughout.
Carter had spent a small fortune on the interior decorating, but he had successfully transformed a condominium into a palace, because in his own mind - Miles deserved no less.
And now while the cold Las Vegas winds whistled outside of the sixth floor of this high-rise, Carter’s focus was intent on the screen of the laptop that was propped up on his bent knees. While he busied himself with his task at hand, it all but went unnoticed when Miles himself walked past him, clearly in preparation for another jaunt to the Tower’s in-house gymnasium. Going up against a hated rival such as Austin James Mercer with his Internet title at stake, Miles was taking no chances as to the outcome. And for a little sweetening of the proverbial pot, Miles also happened to be wearing the outfit that never failed to capture his man’s attention; a hot pink muscle shirt that was open wide at the sides for a tantalizing glimpse of Miles’s sculpted upper body, and the light blue ‘short shorts’ that left little to the imagination save for the well toned backside Carter said even made God sit back to admire on the seventh day.
But this time, Carter’s focus remained on the laptop and the tasks at hand, both scrolling a particular website and speaking to someone on messenger all at the same time. It must have indeed been important because again – Miles walked back past him, this time passing the front of the sofa and he leaned over Carter to reach his keys that were in a conch-shaped dish, his ass practically in Carter’s line of vision if not his face entirely. And yet – nothing.
“Damn… forgot…” Miles stood upright and hurried toward the hallway that led to the two bedrooms of the abode, before returning with his gym bag. Miles again passed by and stumbled, dropping his keys from his fingers and he bent over at the waist, right at Carter’s side and when nothing happened – no dirty words or not even a gratuitous grabbing of the ass, Miles stood upright and turned around to directly address his man.
“Alright, what is going on?” Miles demanded, finally catching Carter’s attention enough for him to look up and almost feel like he had somehow done something wrong.
“What is it?” Carter asked, caught off guard and completely bewildered. “Did I do something?”
“No,” Miles answered with a playful frown, having grown all too accustomed to his boyfriend being quite unable to keep himself from laying hands on him at every golden opportunity. Miles went on to say further, “And that’s the problem.”
Carter looked around as if he were completely lost and then back up at an expectant Miles and he shrugged his slim shoulders, shaking his head without comprehension.
Miles rolled his eyes, all too used to Carter’s wanton attention focused on him from head to toe and to not even get a single reaction had given Miles slight cause for concern. He leaned over and placed his hand on Carter’s forehead, asking, “Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”
Carter laughed, despite his confusion, swatting Miles’s hand from his head and he sat up straighter, saying, “I’m fine! What’s wrong with you?”
“You could give a man a complex, you know.” Miles pouted, jetting out his bottom lip past the point of no return. “I’m wearing those shorts you love so much and nada. No playing ‘grab ass’, nothing! I’ll bet you didn’t even notice.”
“Oh I noticed alright.” Carter said, side-eyeing those aforementioned shorts. “You really shouldn’t wear boxer briefs beneath booty shorts though.”
Miles looked down to the shorts and yes indeed, one could see his undergarments peeking out of the legs of those shorts. Miles looked back up and in his haughtiest tone, said, “In my defense, the last time I didn’t wear anything under these, I never made it to the gym, you walked funny for a week and I almost had to be hospitalized for dehydration!”
“Ahh, I see!” Carter replied with as much playfulness as he could muster to match Miles’s own. “So it’s a matter of self preservation?”
“Exactly!” Miles replied. Carter winked playfully at him and Miles then took a step closer and peered over his boyfriend’s shoulder and the laptop screen. “What has you more entranced than me own arse, might I ask?”
“I’m just finalizing plans for catering Christmas dinner.” Carter said as he hurriedly typed a response to the one whom he had been negotiating with. “I was pretty surprised that so many professional caterers were working on Christmas.”
“Why are you hiring a caterer?” Miles asked, his hands on the armrest of the sofa. “You did incredible on your Thanksgiving party. Everything turned out perfect!”
“Yeah you just said the key word.” Carter spoke from the corner of his mouth, heightening his sarcasm. “‘Perfect’. Miles, if you actually think I don’t know what was going on every time I had to try and sneak out of the kitchen for one thing or another, you don’t know me half as well as you think you do!”
“What are you talking about?” Miles asked innocently enough, but one Carter was unable to buy as it were.
***
And see, this is where we make use of one of those wonderful storytelling devices known as the flashback. Because 22 days prior was the holiday in which we as Americans celebrate being thankful for what we have. Ironically 24 hours before we trample one another to death for much desired sales items…
Carter had insisted, laying down the rule that everyone was to stay out of the kitchen as he wanted to prepare everything for their Thanksgiving Day feast on his own. His way of giving thanks for his friends, family and loved ones for all that they had done for him in mutual showings of support over the past year. Of course, there was just one small problem with this wish…
Carter could prepare basic meals such as chili, meatloaf and the like, but a full Thanksgiving feast? Whether he would care to admit it or not, that was just a touch out of his realm of expertise. He would never admit it but he was struggling to keep up in preparing multiple dishes and was feeling overwhelmed, but every offer of help was steadfastly refused.
Shoot! Carter had to use the restroom and rushed out of the kitchen, pausing only long enough to make sure everyone knew to stay out of the kitchen. Once the bathroom door shut, Carter’s beloved Grams stood up from where she was sitting beside her daughter and Ariana and she hurried into the kitchen and opened the oven door. With a pair of tongs in her hand, she stuck them into the back end of the turkey and pulled out the small pouch of giblets from inside the bird. She quickly disposed of them in the wastebasket beneath the kitchen sink and managed to return to her seat just before Carter had resumed his duties.
***
Back in the present, Carter nonchalantly said to Miles, “Then there was the point when I had spilled the wine on my pants and had to run and change…”
***
And back to Thanksgiving Day when Carter has ran as fast as his feet would carry him into the bedroom to change, and this time Carter’s mom had gotten up and ran into the kitchen where she grabbed the turkey baster and opened the oven door, dousing the bird in its own juices, a chore her son had been woefully neglecting in the cooking…
***
Carter paused in what he was doing on the laptop to look up in recollection, adding, “And of course there was the time I am pretty sure one of them was in the kitchen when I was coming back from the spare room with the wine glasses….”
***
How could Carter have forgotten the new set of wine glasses he had procured just for this day alone? And luckily with enough to even accommodate their extra guest, Harper Mason. He had just turned the corner when a frantic Miles did the only thing he could think of to keep Carter from finding Ariana in the kitchen, beating the lumps out of the mashed potatoes! Miles grabbed him the moment he turned the corner toward the living room and just planted the biggest, wettest, and most passionate kiss on his boyfriend that he had ever - just long enough to watch over Carter’s shoulder until Ariana beat a hasty retreat and Miles finally released Carter, leaving Carter both breathless and temporarily unable to remember what he had been doing!
***
“I didn’t hear you complaining.” Miles smirked, standing over Carter who just looked back over his shoulder and up at the love of his life.
“You stole my gum.” Carter said in an accusing tone, then looked back down at the laptop. Miles sighed and he admitted, “We didn’t do it because we didn’t trust you, babe. We did it because you wanted so bad for the day to be perfect and…”
“I know.” Carter finished his thought. “You were just trying to help me. And I appreciated it, I really did. I know I’m not the best cook in the world but I had to try. And the fact that everything turned out perfectly told me enough that I didn’t do it alone.”
Carter again shared a knowing look with Miles who could not help but smile at Carter’s own sense of self teasing. Miles nodded knowingly toward the laptop, saying, “Don’t hire the caterer, Carter. You can do it - only this time, you’ll let everyone help who wants to.”
Carter exchanged brief glances between Miles and the messenger exchange with the caterer, sighing and saying, “Fair enough, I guess.” He started to type his final reply to the caterer when the soft ping alerted Carter’s attention to his email alert. His eyes shifted toward the message and he smiled in delight, “Great! My package just got dropped off!”
Mile groaned, “Babe, what did you order THIS time???”
“Never you mind!” Carter replied, indicating that whatever it was, it was quite possible it had much to do about Miles and Christmas and bringing the two together. Carter then asked, “Can you grab it off the step for me before you head to the gym?”
Knowing better than to argue the merits of online shopping with his amazon-addicted boyfriend, Miles acted dutifully and proceeded to the door where he opened it and looked down and found – nothing. Miles leaned out into the hall and looked both left and right and nada. Zilch! Miles stepped back inside and called out, “Carter, there’s nothing here!”
“Oh no, not again!” Carter’s voice came from the foyer and he soon came running. “I opened the email and there was a snapshot of the package at our door!”
“Porch pirate again?” Miles asked, to which Carter mournfully stated, “That’s the third package this week! I talked to other tenants an d they’ve been missing packages too!”
“So it’s someone in the building.” Miles pointed out, and Carter groaned, running his fingers through his hair. He growled audibly, and Miles knew the proverbial wheels were beginning to turn in that head of his. You could do many a thing to his man but mess with his shopping? That, to Carter, was simply unforgivable!
Carter took a deep breath and blew it out through pursed lips and surprised Miles, opening his eyes and looking at him with a calm smile. “Never mind.” Carter said simply. “You go to the gym. I’ll take care of this.”
“Carter?” Miles began warily, knowing his boyfriend had readily earned the status of a Slytherin for a reason. “What are you…?”
“Just go to the gym.” Carter repeated. “Everything will be fine.”
A narrow eyed gaze fixed on Carter, Miles reached down for his gym bag and he proceeded to the front door after a quick kiss. Before he closed it behind him, Miles gave him the “I have my eye on you” fix with his fingers and finally the door closed behind him. Only then did the smile on Carter’s face falter and morph into something a touch more twisted. He spun around on his heel and casually walked up the hall and toward their shared bedroom…
And moments later he emerged, carrying a small box-shaped device in one hand, and an empty UPS box in the other. The device has a small camera hole on each side, and the top had what appeared to be a fan embedded in the surface. He set both down on the surface of the bar counter in their home and he proceeded to get to work. He reached into the UPS box and removed two tubes of glitter and with a manic, gleeful look in his eyes, he proceeded to dumb both vials of glitter into the fan…
***
“So, what was all that about?” Miles asked as he set foot inside of the condo, shutting the door behind him. Fresh faced from another proper workout, Miles walked into the foyer where Carter was sitting at the bar, his eyes glued to the screen of the laptop.
“Hm?” Carter murmured but he wasn’t distracted enough not to give Miles the desired kiss from over his shoulder. “What was what about?”
“Don’t play coy with me.” Miles warned as Carter’s eyes continued to remain on the screen which was curiously dark. “I know you well enough to know when you’re up to some deviousness. It’s one of the things I find so hot about you.” And that little nugget of information got a smile from Carter before Miles nodded toward the screen.
“So, you going to tell me what’s going on?” Miles asked. “What mischief have you cooked up this time?”
“Was there a package on the doorstep when you came home?” Carter asked ominously, answering a question with a question. Miles frowned and replied, “Another package? No?”
“Perfect!” Carter smiled and he waved with his hand. “Pull up a seat and park that beautiful ass. We’re about to get a show.”
Knowing Carter well enough to know he meant what he promised, Miles pulled a stool up closer to his side and had a seat, watching the screen of the laptop more closely. Only now could he see closely enough that it seemed something on the screen was moving, dark - but moving.
“What is this?” Miles asked.
“Something I’ve been saving up for ever since packages started disappearing in the building.” Carter answered. “I’m taking no chances.”
Miles then turned back and now he and Carter could just barely make out voices on the screen. As time progressed, the voices became more prominent… familiar.
“You got another one?”
“Yeah, that guy orders more from amazon than the rest of the building combined!”
This accusation caused Miles to turn his head and nod toward Carter as he often teased him about the very same.
“What’s in it?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t opened it yet you n00b!”
“Guys, maybe we should stop. What if we get caught?”
“Stop being such a bitch, Kevin!”
“Kevin…?” Miles frowned, knowing that name and the voice slowly coming into place at the forefront of his mind.
“Yeah, we got that guy’s new iPad, didn’t we?”
Carter slapped the counter in anger, sharing a brief and knowing exchange with Miles.
“Just open it already!”
“What are you three boys up to NOW???”
That voice…. “Karen!” Miles growled through clenched teeth. He would know those dulcet tones anywhere!
“Wait…” Carter said. “That’s…”
“Karen’s kids!” Miles said. “They’re the porch pirates!”
The screen suddenly lit up as the package was opened, and you saw three boys looking down into it as if their faces were stuffed collectively into the camera. Then the fourth face peered in between them, and indeed it was Karen Chapman, Miles’s arch nemesis as it were! And suddenly there was the sound of a whir starting and suddenly there was a cloud of glitter spewing up from within! The boys started shouting and scattering and they could hear Karen screeching from clear upstairs, let alone on the laptop, as everything around them had been consumed in glitter!
Miles leaned back with wide, impressed eyes and turned that wide-eyed stare to his boyfriend.
“I know, I know!” Carter said. “Slytherin!”
Tucson, Arizona - Winterhaven
When told that the final SCW Supercard pay-per-view would be taking place in Tucson, Arizona, HBCarter jokingly asked what there was to do to pass the time in Bedrock, teasingly comparing the desert city to the desert city made famous in the Flintstones. Not wanting to just sit inside their hotel room during their entire stay during Super card weekend, Carter did a little research and found there was one holiday tradition that was made famous during the Christmas season;
Winterhaven Festival of Lights.
Winterhaven was a neighborhood in Tucson but one that at this time of year, made headlines for their dramatic and festive display of lights. Light displays so dramatic and elaborate that they were dazzling to the eyes and remembered the year round. This was where we would find Carter as he casually strolled about amongst not just the people of this city, but he had spotted a random SCW star or two who had obviously done their research as well and arrived at the same conclusion as he.
“December 2 Dismember V. The final event of the calendar year, and I find myself in something of a conundrum. You see, for the past few Super card events, I had started to feel overlooked in the eyes of the hierarchy. I mean, let’s face it. I haven’t exactly been given reason to think the match makers have been looking toward me favorably. At Summer XXXTreme XI, I was going to be left off the show completely until Jaycee Macdonald accepted my open challenge at the very last possible second. And at Violent Conduct IX, they didn’t even make the attempt. I checked the lineup and I just wasn’t on it. And if I’m going to be honest…”
Carter shrugged his shoulders.
“It was at that point I was seriously beginning to think maybe I needed a break from wrestling because if they were just going to overlook me, then I wondered if I should even bother. And then a little something called fate came a calling. I got booked, but in a non-title match against none other than Michael Harris, not only the reigning World Champion but also probably the biggest asshole in the sport at the time. I don’t know why I was chosen to get placed in the ring against him. I guess maybe they thought the champ could use a tune up match before he ultimately dropped the ball against J2H. He had to be booked but could use the night off so they looked around and saw my pretty face.”
Carter stopped at one particular display of lights that were crafted to look like fountains erupting up into the air.
“Only, things didn’t quite work out the way the higher ups expected, or Michael Harris himself thought possible. Because I did the unthinkable. I beat the champion. I was the only other person besides J2H to pin the shoulders of Michael Harris down, and well… we all remember what happened after that. Michael couldn’t handle the humiliation, went off the rails and we ended up with the need to fill a championship vacancy! And the bookers didn’t have much choice but to enter me into that World title match at High Stakes XIII, considering my win was the catalyst for Harris’s meltdown and the need for a new champion. Just myself and five other men, and no. I did not win. I did not walk out of Las Vegas as the World Champion but…”
He held up a forefinger.
“I like to think I did myself proud anyway. Yes, I was unhappy that I put myself into position to get eliminated by Alexander Raven, but I got one small consolation prize. I was the third runner up, and to get there I eliminated the man many were expecting to make it to the final two - Goth. The very same man that I’m facing this coming Sunday in what I suppose is a rematch of sorts in the eyes of the fans and matchmakers. But really, I think there’s more to it than just seeing a one on one rematch and to find out if my eliminating Goth was a fluke given the chaos of the Six Pack match – or if I could pull it off one more time and drive home the fact that I am here, and I am not going anywhere!”
Carter finally tore his eyes away from the light display to move on to the next when something else caught his eye. A small cart stand that was selling hot drinks in the cold, December night. With the SCW stars so used to the Las Vegas heat over the year, it was quite surprising that a desert could get so cold at night. The temperature now was just over fifty and Carter welcomed something hot to warm up with. He handed the cash over to the older woman at the stand and was gifted with a steaming cup of hot cocoa.
Carter took a grateful sip and gifted her the change as a tip before moving on.
“Now this is where things get interesting between Goth and myself, and I don’t mean the fact that he’s a member of the Saviors whom I’m on fairly good terms with - mostly with Mac Bane, Kat Jones and how could we forget Whisper? But I’m getting away from myself. You see, it was only recently where Goth met Austin James Mercer in a match to determine who would be next in line after Alexander Raven to challenge for the World Championship. And wouldn’t you know? Goth came out on top of that one, and now he’s set to meet whoever wins between J2H and Alexander Raven, the runner up of the Six pack match. But this is what confuses the hell out of me!”
“Word was that before December 2 Dismember V, Goth was to get his shot at J2H and the winner moved on to defend against raven. But then Goth became the first guy I ever heard of that passed up a shot at the World title, preferring to wait until the new year to get his chance! I mean, can you even imagine being offered a shot at the biggest prize in this sport and saying ‘No thanks, maybe next time?’ No? Me either! But that is exactly what you did, Goth, and one of these days I hope you can explain to the world why.”
“But passing up the chance at the title on the ‘Going Home’ show did nothing to change the fact that Goth IS the top contender for the gold, and he’s the man that I’m facing this Sunday. Now don't et me wrong. I'm not even looking past Goth to make a statement that needs to be made on my own behalf. I am not THAT stupid! Look past Goth and think he's an easy target and you're as good as dead inside of that ring. The man is nothing short of a certifiable legend in this business, and despite the hints that he has dropped every now and then, from the outside looking in, I don't see him slowing down any time soon. In fact, no matter who walks out of Tucson as the champion, I would place my bets on Goth being the one to dethrone whoever the champion is! That is..."
He took a drink of the hot cocoa, the cold air bringing it down to that perfect temperature as he passed under a decorative arch that read 'Candy Cane Lane'.
"Unless I get to the new champion first. Because right now, whether Goth is the 'official' number one contender or not to me is irrelevant in this match. If I beat Goth, if I can beat a former World Champion of SCW and just about every other promotion that he's worked for -- if I can pin the shoulders of this Hall of Famer -- then it just might be me facing the World Champion first, whoever he might be."
Carter turned round and this time faced the camera directly.
"Goth, friend or foe, Savior or not..."
"I am not going to be left behind. I am not going down. 2024 is going to be my year -- and it is going to start with the end of 2023. Best of luck, Goth."
He raised the cup of cocoa in a toast.
"This is going to be an epic start to new beginnings!”
That being said, carter then calmly turned back around and passed the arch, the camera trailing upwards into the sky and focusing on the Winterhaven lights before slowly fading out.
